Oakland man charged after daughter hit by car

An Oakland man whose 18-month-old daughter was hit by a car in the middle of the street on Saturday is scheduled to be arraigned today on felony child endangerment and resisting-arrest charges.

Oakland police spokesman Jeff Thomason said police aren't sure whether 21-year-old John Taylor threw his daughter into an Oakland street on Saturday or whether she ran into the street on her own.

But although the specific details are still being investigated, police believe Taylor should be prosecuted for child endangerment, Thomason said.

Taylor is scheduled to be arraigned in Department 112 at the Wiley Manuel Courthouse at 661 Washington St. in Oakland on the 2 p.m. calendar today.

Thomason said that at 5:39 p.m. Saturday, an off-duty Oakland police officer saw Taylor pick up his daughter and shake her. Seconds later, the toddler ended up in the middle of Fifth Avenue, just south of East 15th Street, where she was run over by a car.

Thomason said police are still trying to determine how the child ended up in the street.

The officer, a 13-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department, rendered aid to the child and then chased down Taylor, who had run away and started attacking motorists at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and International Boulevard, police said.

The officer saw the suspect in a violent scuffle with several people and attempted to intervene, police said.

As Taylor allegedly began attacking the off-duty officer, uniformed officers arrived and used a Taser stun gun to subdue and arrest him, police said.

Taylor was taken to a hospital to be treated for a head injury. Thomason said Taylor gave a statement to police and "offered admissions as to his involvement."

The girl has returned to her home, where she lives with her mother, Thomason said.